


Splash

by LinksLipsSinkShips



Category: Rhett & Link
Genre: Jackass!Rhett, Lifeguard!Link, M/M, Snark, moments of peril
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-02
Updated: 2018-09-02
Packaged: 2019-07-06 00:35:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,266
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15874923
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LinksLipsSinkShips/pseuds/LinksLipsSinkShips
Summary: Link isn't so sure that he's happy with the responsibilities of being a lifeguard, but with no other summer jobs available, he has no choice but to give it this summer at the least. Unfortunately, there's a guy at his pool that is doing everything he can to make it the worst. summer. ever.





	Splash

Link scanned the unnaturally blue water around him. He’d only been working there for a day and a half, and thankfully, he hadn’t been audited yet to make sure he was watching it enough. If he could make it through an entire summer without having to rescue anyone, he’d be happy. The stress of being a lifeguard didn’t seem worth the money, not anymore, but he’d been put on the schedule before the lifeguard meeting. That meeting stressed that their job was sometimes life-or-death responsibility, and it had sincerely spooked him.

If anyone in his section drowned, their death would be on his hands. It was  _ horrifying.  _ But every other summer job in town was now full, so he couldn’t change. It was too late. He’d be a lifeguard, or he’d have no summer job. His only choice was to get through the summer, and then he’d be able to walk away from the stresses of being a lifeguard and never look back.

Part of him knew he was probably taking it too seriously, too personally. He looked at his other coworkers, all splashing around and playing games, missing the audit balls tossed in the water entirely. Audits represented people-- if one was thrown in your area and you didn’t catch it in time, your job would be on the line. But Link didn’t know how to switch off like that. He was certain the second he did, the second he stopped watching carefully enough and relaxed, someone would drown.

Especially, he thought, with the kind of jackasses his section seemed to attract. The entire time he’d been working, both days, a tall-ass gangly kid around his age was showing off. He and his friends were breaking all kinds of rules, doing flips off of the high dive, trying to play chicken. Link was attempting to keep an eye on his entire section, but when this… this  _ loser  _ insisted on hanging out where he was working, he had no choice but to focus on him, drawing his attention away from anyone else he was trying to scan.

It felt like he was watching and waiting, eyeing Link until he turned away to watch someone else, and then would immediately do something stupid again. Link recalled all the times his mother said she had eyes in the back of her head, and he realized what she meant now. When someone was in trouble constantly, you don’t even have to look directly at them to know instinctively when they’re up to no good. It’s why when a smaller boy climbed on top of the tall kid’s shoulders for yet another attempt, he didn’t get all the way up on him before Link was whistling.

“Get down!” Link called. He stepped closer to make sure the tall kid could hear him clearly. “If you keep it up, I’ll have to get to the manager.” Link had affected his most professional tone.

“I’ll have to get the manager,” the kid mocked back, changing his pitch and waggling his head. “Hey, hey, pretty boy, can’t you let it slide for one game? We’re just tryin’ to have a good time is all.”

“And what happens,  _ pretty boy _ , when you smack your head on the side of the pool and start to drown and I have to try to save your sorry ass?” Link felt less professional now, but this kid had been grating on him since the pool opened for the summer. “If you can’t follow the rules, leave. Or I’ll  _ make  _ you leave.”

“Oooh,” the kid turned and looked at his friends, who were also oohing and laughing at the statement. Rhett swam over to the side of the pool, getting closer to Link. “Looks like pretty boy here thinks he’s hot shit since he has that whistle around his neck,” he said, looping a finger through the lanyard and pulling Link closer. Link tried to jerk back, and the guy let go. “Don’t worry, I wasn’t gonna pull you in. I’m just tryin’ to get a better look at…”

“Well don’t,” Link snapped, straightening himself and glaring before he returned to his stand. One more issue, one single problem, and Link would make sure this kid was banned from the pool for the season. Thankfully, before anything else happened, Link was tapped on the shoulder and told to rotate to the kiddie section for a while. This was good news: for fifteen minutes, he didn’t have to worry about this jerk. Sure, little kids  _ could  _ drown in six inches of water, but they weren’t being as wild as the older kids. For now, the tall, gangly troublemaker wouldn’t be his responsibility. Link felt a sense of relief. If that kid drowned from being positively insane, it wasn’t Link’s problem anymore.

Link stole a few glances at the girl who had taken his section, trying to give her a sympathetic look, but he realized that the tall kid was nowhere to be seen anymore. He grumbled under his breath.  _ Figures.  _ After the kiddie pool watch, it was time for lifeguard swim. One nice thing about lifeguard swim was that Link didn’t have to watch anyone. He could just cool off, go for a short float in the lazy river, or otherwise take a break. During lifeguard swim, patrons weren’t even allowed in the pool, which gave Link the idea that he might be able to continue avoiding the tall kid who had been messing with him.

But as he reclined in an innertube, the sun beating down on him as he made his way around the lazy river slowly, he felt water splattering onto his chest. He looked up. Small kids would often dip their toes in and horse around on the sides until they were allowed to get back in the water. He peeked up, opening just one eye, a move that usually got the little kids to stop splashing, but the quick look told him that it was the tall kid again. “What the heck, man?” Link yelped. “I’m trying to take a break!” The tall kid laughed and turned back to his friends, attempting to splash them, but the second Link closed his eyes again, a large dousing of water washed over him.

That was enough for Link. He jumped off of his tube and struggled through the moving water, stalking to the side of the pool against the current and grabbing the guy’s arm. “Listen up, buddy, I’m  _ sick  _ of you and how you’re acting here. You won’t even let me take a freakin’ break without getting in my way. I don’t know what’s with you, but you’re being a jackass.” Link hissed the words quietly, not even thinking about the consequences. It was never appropriate to talk to a patron like that, even if he was a complete nightmare.

“Hey, be cool,” the boy said. “It was just an accident.” He swung his feet in the water, brushing Link’s leg’s with his toes as Link tried to swat his foot away. “I wasn’t trying to get you all wet. You got a little something --” he swiped at Link’s cheek with his fingers “--right there.”

“Thanks,” Link huffed. This kid was going to drive him insane.

Thankfully, he didn’t see him the rest of the day. But the next day, the second the pool opened, the kid made a beeline for the section he was working. “Hey, it’s my favorite lifeguard!” he whooped with a wink at Link, who rolled his eyes and turned his entire body toward another part of his section, avoiding the kid altogether. “Well fine, I didn’t want to talk to you, either!” the kid hollered at him.

Link was starting to feel like the less attention he gave this guy, the more this guy would keep pushing for attention, so Link turned and gave a small wave, then turned back to what he’d been looking at, a cluster of younger kids who weren’t quite as confident of swimmers. He felt a hand wrap around his ankle.

“What the crap?!” he jerked away, trying to get loose of the touch.

“I hollered for you and you didn’t hear me,” he said. “So I figured if I came over and nudged you you would.”

“What do you need?” Link asked impatiently, tapping his foot and glaring down at the guy with his arms crossed across his chest.

“I wanted to know what your name is, pretty boy,” he grinned.

Link rolled his eyes and groaned. “What, you going to turn me in for being unprofessional yesterday?” he grumbled. He couldn’t think of another reason why this kid would want his name.

“Nope. I just wanted to know is all. I just moved here like, three weeks ago from Georgia and I bet you’re my age, so I was thinkin’ I’d like to know what to say if I see you in school. Assuming you don’t always go by ‘Pretty Boy’.”

“I don’t  _ ever  _ go by ‘Pretty Boy.’ I’m Link,” Link said, taking a step back, away from the kid, who was propped up on the side of the pool on his elbows.

“Link? Link the Lifeguard. Lifeguard Link,” he tried, rolling the l’s around on his tongue. “I like it. Nice alliteration you got there.” He smiled. “I’m Rhett. Later!” And like that, he was gone, darting through the pool water after pushing off the edge. No conversation, just disappearing into the small waves caused by the number of patrons bouncing in the water.

Link didn’t know what to make of him, but he stayed on guard for the day in case Rhett really had planned to turn him in like he’d suspected. But when nothing was said, Link relaxed a little bit, assuming maybe Rhett was being honest. He was new, looking for friends, and as much as Link was certain they could  _ never  _ be friends, he could respect the idea that Rhett needed someone to say hello to. He’d be polite, at least, he figured. If they could get through the summer without Rhett being an absolute jackass, or somehow injuring himself.

But the next day, Rhett was back in his section again. He was screwing around with his friends, doing his best to draw as much attention as possible, from who, Link wasn’t certain. But he wasn’t breaking any rules, and as far as Link could tell, he was at no actual risk of drowning, so instead, Link turned his gaze to some younger kids jumping from the side. He turned back and saw someone deep under the water. Rhett was nowhere to be seen, but the long form was down for a while, too long, longer than he should have been able to hold his breath. Time froze. Link tried to count, but he lost all concept. Had he been under for a minute? Two? The long, lanky figure floated to the top, face-down.

Link panicked.  _ Fuck fuck fuck.  _ Had Link cursed him, thinking or believing and even telling him he might drown? How much paperwork would he have to do over this? Would he lose his job? Would Rhett even survive? If he jumped in to save him, could he even carry the long, gangly body back to the side of the pool? What if he forgot how to do CPR? How could he ever--

It didn’t matter. Link pushed the thoughts out of his head, diving into the water and making two long strokes with his arms, reaching Rhett and wrapping his arms around him to turn him face-up. He held Rhett closely, doing his best to swim with the dead weight attached to him, then heaving him up onto the side of the pool. A few people crowded near him as he opened Rhett’s mouth, making sure his airway was clear. His first few pumps on Rhett’s chest were hesitant… too hesitant. If he didn’t get it together and crack some ribs the next time, Rhett would never start to breathe again, but first, he wanted to focus on getting air into his lungs.

He dipped his head low, completely forgetting anyone around him as he focused on one thing.  _ Breathe, Rhett, Breathe.  _ He pushed breath into Rhett slowly, and for half a second, imagined the movement of Rhett’s lips against his, the fluttering of Rhett’s tongue against his teeth. He breathed into Rhett again, and before he could shift to do chest compressions, he felt a tug at his neck.

His whistle. Rhett  _ was  _ awake and he wasn’t imagining this. The tongue movement, the lips, it was real, and every part of Link wanted to tear himself away, to scream and possibly punch Rhett because how could he be so  _ freaking stupid  _ like that, to scare Link to death, but instead Link found himself doing everything he could to pretend to breathe into Rhett’s lungs, but instead, shifting his lips against Rhett’s mouth, letting Rhett know he knew this was happening. He fluttered his tongue into Rhett’s mouth, then back out, backing off of him and letting Rhett prop himself up on his elbows. His eyes were droopy and Link suddenly wondered if he’d made a mistake, if Rhett wasn’t trying to kiss him, but instead to move under him, to let him know he was okay and Link had misread the situation.

But then Rhett perked up, smiling. “My hero,” he said. Everyone around them applauded Link, but Link mostly just felt confused and frustrated. He picked himself up off of the ground and shoved his way through the crowd, not daring to look back at Rhett.

* * *

Paperwork was fine. Link could do the stupid paperwork. It was the fact that he actually had to  _ talk  _ to Rhett to do it that pissed him off. They were alone in the manager’s office. Why they’d left him alone with this jerk, he had no idea, but they had, and now Rhett was perched on one of the higher counters, legs dangling so his toes touched the ground.

“What the crap?” Link shot at him, the second the door closed and they were alone. “Were you ever even actually drowning? You pull some stupid stunt like that, you  _ scare  _ me half to death, you make me drag you across the pool and you’re  _ fine?  _ Screw you, man,” Link huffed. He prayed no one was listening outside the door once he realized he’d been ranting and suddenly thought better of it. Rhett didn’t say anything, just sat there, hand over his face a little like he was covering a smirk. “You think this is funny?”

“It’s not that serious, pretty boy,” Rhett said, hopping off of the counter and stepping closer to Link. “You always take everything seriously, don’t you?” He stepped toward Link again, backing him against the door, his finger looping through Link’s whistle lanyard once again. “Let loose a little.”

“I swear if you call me ‘pretty boy’ one more freaking time,” Link gritted his teeth. “Will you back the heck off and let me do this paperwork or not? I gotta get back to work, man.”

Rhett chuckled and took two exaggerated steps back. “Like this?”

“What’s your name?” Link read off of the form.

“I already told you. It’s Rhett.”

“Rhett  _ what?”  _ Link emphasized, rolling his eyes.

“Rhett James McLaughlin. I assume you’ll need my parents’ names, too. Jim and Diane. You want an address?” Rhett rolled his eyes up, like he was searching for the information. If Link was going to demand they do the paperwork, he was going to get it done as quickly as possible, it seemed.

“Phone number?” Link asked.

“Ooh, I barely get the chance to kiss you and you’re already asking for my number?” Rhett cooed.

“It’s for the stupid form,” Link muttered.

“Just giving you trouble pret… Link,” Rhett corrected himself. “Seriously, you don’t always gotta look like you have a stick up your ass. Just breathe.”

“I  _ was  _ breathing, or trying to get  _ you  _ to breathe, but you were doing a damn good job of that, weren’t you?” Link hissed. “Phone number,” he repeated, this time a command.

“So you’re mad at me?” Rhett dodged the question, dipping his head trying to meet Link’s gaze.

“I asked for your phone number,” Link repeated himself.

“Yeah, and I’ll give it to you. But I’ve been answering your questions and you haven’t answered mine,” Rhett said.

“Because mine are things I have to ask for my  _ job,  _ not for some stupid stuff that you’ve got going on. Faking a drowning and then kissing me. Real funny,” Link sighed.

“I wasn’t trying to be funny. And I’ll give you my phone number… if you actually use it sometime.”

“That’s not how that works! I’m not gonna call you, but you have to give them your number for legal reasons so we can’t make sure you aren’t--” Link looked at his form “-- dry drowning tonight.”

“You want to check personally?” Rhett pushed. Link ignored the comment and tapped his foot impatiently. “God, all of this, almost drowning, and you’re not even a good kisser,” Rhett teased.

“I wasn’t kissing you! I was trying to  _ save  _ your ass, not kiss you! I’m a good kisser!” Link insisted, his voice going up in pitch as he talked, frustrated with the insult.

“Oh are you? Because uh, that was pretty lame,” Rhett leaned against the counter he’d been sitting on earlier, biting his lip and looking at Link. “I wasn’t exactly impressed.”

“You freaking jerk!” Link hissed, stepping closer to Rhett. “You put me through all of that, you pretend to drown, you could have  _ died  _ from pretending to drown, you practically cost me my job for not watching the water close enough, and you want to say I’m not a good kisser on top of all that when I didn’t even kiss you? Screw you.” Link stepped closer to him, getting into his face. “CPR is not a joke. You’re being an ass if you think it’s funny to call something that serious a kiss.  _ This  _ is a kiss.” Link grabbed Rhett’s arms hard, pulling him down to his level and pressing his lips against Rhett’s. He gave it his all, releasing all his frustration at everything Rhett had done so far that first week of summer onto Rhett’s lips. He pressed his tongue into Rhett’s mouth, grasping at the bare skin his swimsuit didn’t cover, holding him there as he felt Rhett kiss him, too. Rhett cupped a hand around Link’s head, weaving a hand between them to pull at Link’s lanyard again, and Link was having trouble staying focused on the reason he’d done this in the first place.

In his mind, he assumed he’d done it out of anger and frustration, annoyance that Rhett had dared to say he wasn’t a good kisser. He’d gone in with the intent to prove himself and make it clear to Rhett:  _ I know how to kiss.  _ But somehow it didn’t feel like it was about that now. Right now, it was needy and desperate and there wasn’t a lot preventing Link from hopping up on Rhett and letting Rhett place him on the counter behind them. Because of that, because of the way Link felt shocked and stunned at how inappropriate he’d been, he pulled back suddenly. Rhett didn’t let go of his lanyard, keeping him close.

“I guess I didn’t give you enough credit,” Rhett said softly. “You needed my phone number?”

“Yeah,” Link breathed. “I might even use it.” It was going to be a very interesting summer.

**Author's Note:**

> I mean, I would hope this goes without saying, but because it doesn't, PLEASE DO NOT EVER FAKE A DROWNING. That's serious business, it's dangerous, and it can lead to genuine harm to yourself and others, so don't do it, y'all. If you want to kiss a dude, just find a way to kiss him without faking a drowning. Please. Seriously. No fake drownings ever. Got it? Good.


End file.
